Bristol City vs Barnsley – 1st vs 7th
Bristol City will be buoyant after collecting 1st of 2 trophies they are in the mix for after a 2-0 victory at Wembley in the JPT final over Walsall on Sunday. It was the Robins 7th win in 8 games and without playing their promotion rivals Preston only drew at Barnsley while MK Dons beat Notts County. Bristol City are within touching distance of the title as they lead the league by 10 points and have a 13 point gap over 3rd placed Swindon. City could rubber stamp the title with wins in their next 4 as they face Barnsley, Swindon and Preston where promotion virtually be achieved if they avoid defeat.
- Best home record in league picking up 45 of 83 points – W14, D3, L2 – only defeats to Sheff United and Preston
- Only conceded 13 goals at home – best home defense in the league
- 22 points from last 30 available – W7, D1, L2 – only Preston taken more (26)
- Scored first in 15 of their 19 home games – W13, D1 and L1
- Aden Flint has 6 goals in last 10 matches and is a major threat from set pieces
- Luke Freeman is the top assist man in League 1 with 12
- Best attack in league scoring 73 and joint best defense with Preston, conceding only 32 – only conceded 3 in last 8 games
- No team picked up more points than City since New Year (35)
Barnsley grabbed what could a precious point against Preston on Saturday through Jabo Ibehere’s late strike. The Tykes only sit 1 point outside the play off places on 55 points but face a tough trip to Ashton Gate tomorrow. Lee Johnson’s side have picked up dramatically since his move from Oldham and have been one of the form sides since his appointment. Johnson knows a result is vital with their play off rivals all having home games at the weekend: Peterborough home to Coventry, Rochdale face Yeovil and Sheffield United host Crewe. The Tykes added Joe Wildsmith from Sheffield Wednesday as keeper Adam Davies is struggling with an injury. Barnsley have a Yorkshire Derby on Easter Saturday against Sheffield United which could have a major impact on their position come 2nd May.
- Picked up 22 of 55 points away – W6, D4, L9 – winning 3 of last 4 with 10 points from a possible 12
- Collected 14 from last 18 available – 4 wins and 2 draws
- Barnsley are unbeaten in their last 8 conceding only 2 goals
- Second best defensive record in last 10 (9 goals conceded)
- 5 of their 6 away wins have been by just 1 goal
- Connor Houihane top scorer with 13 goals but only netted once in last 15 games
- Sides drew 2-2 at Oakwell earlier in the season with Barnsley winning 1 of last 5 meetings
- Barnsley last win at Ashton Gate was back in 1993 – without a win there in 13 games
Prediction Bristol City 2-1 Barnsley
